Concerns arise over Singaporean pet cremation company’s “fake” ashes

When a 16-year-old Shih Tzu named Boston passed away on 19 July, his paw-rent, Alex Chua, engaged the services of Express Pets Cremation to assist with the cremation of his furkid. The porcelain urn, which had been sealed shut with silicon, was returned to him the next day.

Upon seeing the sealed urn, he felt that something wasn’t right and had decided to pry it open to take a look at its contents. “Inside it was some strange, grey powdery substance, which didn’t look like ashes or my pet’s remains to me,” He explains.

One can only imagine the confusion and anger that he felt—after all, this was his best friend of 16 years. “I was lost,” He said, “But it made me more determined to get this company sorted out.”

He lodged a police report against Express Pet Cremation and had the powdery substance tested to verify if it was really Boston’s ashes. Chia Poh Ling, a consultant forensic scientist at the Forensic Experts Group said, “We subjected (the powder) to at least two techniques and found that most of them are consistent with silicate containing compounds, which are found in things like sand or cement.” She also added that while some of the remaining large fragments were found to contain hydroxyapatite—a mineral found in bones—the rest had silicate instead.

As of yesterday (3 August), many owners who have had their furkids cremated at Express Pet Cremation started sending in videos of themselves prying open the urns to reveal the same powdery substance that Alex found.

The police has confirmed that reports have been lodged and investigations are ongoing.

If this incident has got you as riled up as we are, comment below to let us know what you think. Let’s hope we get to the bottom of this!